A Prince in Mourning
by The Miser
Summary: Bulma has died and Trunks blames Vegeta. How will Vegeta cope with life after Bulma's death?


I was inspired to write this after watching Vegeta sacrifice himself against Majin Buu. It made me so sad. Then I thought about what Vegeta would be like if Bulma died on him.

I'm sorry if anyone is getting impatient with me updating The Destroyer of Worlds. The next chapter is almost complete and I am just taking a little while to finish the next chapter completely.

Dragon Ball Z belong to Toei Animation and the great Akira Toriyama

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Slowly I walked through the chilling place. The wind blew through the desolate cemetery bringing with it the frosty temperature that this time of year produced. I didn't look at any of the headstones as I walked; I knew where I was going.

There was only one sign that I was a real person and not a ghost, it was that the wind blew my coat which made it whip against some of the headstones making a small clicking noise. It hardly registered to me that I should button up my coat. The cold wind was nothing to me. I couldn't help but think that if the woman were here then she would have had a fit arguing with me over the blasted coat.

The woman…in a way, she was here. I winced at the thought of her yelling. Not that it annoyed me, but instead it was quite the opposite, I missed her. It had been maybe half a year since she had been taken by the sickness that had hit her out of nowhere. All I could remember about that damn illness was that my woman had been sick with something else when it hit. It had taken her by surprise. I'm sure Kakarot was distraught when he learned exactly what the sickness was. In an almost ironic way, the very woman whose future self had created the vaccine for the illness had fallen to that very illness. It wasn't surprising to me that the blubbering fool had survived it and my woman had not.

My stride slowed a bit when I noticed the familiar headstone.

Dr. Briefs

700th age - 794th age

Beloved husband, father, grandfather, and a brilliant scientist

It was very plain. That was the way the old man had wanted it. The only decoration on the gravestone was a picture of a capsule carved into the granite. Even though the old man would have protested having the picture there, his annoying wife did it anyway. I let myself smirk as I remembered how the old fool had sold his first name to some company is order to help out his business when it was still young.

Slowly the headstone moved out of view as I continued to slowly move down the familiar sidewalk looking down on the second of the three headstones.

Bunny Briefs

702nd age – 796th age

Beloved wife, mother, and grandmother

The woman's mother's gravestone was very elaborately decorated with animals and flowers. She had designed the thing herself. Annoying woman, it was really no wonder where my woman had gotten her annoying personality. Though to Bunny's credit; she was marvelous cook. Not even Kakarot's harpy of a wife could cook as well as Bunny did.

Finally the last headstone became visible. This is where I stopped moving and stood looking down on the marble headstone.

Bulma Briefs

733rd age – 807th age

Beloved daughter, wife, mother, grandmother, friend, and a brilliant scientist

Slowly I bent over and moved some leaves away from the flowers in front of the headstone; I had put them there the day before. For the last year I had come here everyday at the same time. Unlike the woman when she was alive, I didn't have a social life. I ate, slept, trained, and now I would spend several hours each day spending time here in this graveyard. It was my way to try and make it seem as if the woman was still here with me. She was the only one who ever thought of me the way she did. I had heard tales of how that was how all family members felt towards each other, but I didn't have a family. The bastard Frieza made sure of that. I only had the woman and our children.

I had to wince at the thought of the kids. It had surprised me how they took the woman's death. Bulla was a splitting image of her mother in every way except one. She may have every physical trait her beautiful mother had, but she had my personality. Bulma's death did upset her, but she didn't show it as much as I thought she would. Bulla probably thought of showing emotion the same way I think of it; as a weakness. She isn't a fighter, but like her mother she had an exceedingly strong will.

Trunks on the other hand was much the opposite of his sister. He took the woman's death hard and he let it show. There was a five week period where only got out of bed for a few things. Finally he was able to get himself back to normal when he started to blame me for Bulma's death. The first time he told me that he thought me responsible for the woman's death I gave him a swift punch to the gut.

I haven't seen him since then. From what I understood he had continued his life and was living happily with Marron and their three children. I have only met them once. The first time was with Bulma when they were all born. They had been triplets, two girls and a boy. Marron's father had been talking of wanting to train the young boy and Trunks voiced interest in joining them. I had actually been proud of my son for wanting to train his children. Of course the brat would never let me near his kids to help train them. Silently I apologized for calling my son a brat. My woman hated it when I referred to Trunks as such.

It had been almost a year since I had actually seen either of them. Bulla would call me up every now and then to check on me. This was just fine with me, but unfortunately Bulla's job and family would shorten our conversations. It was enough to satisfy me though. I obviously yearned for more, but she was a grown woman who had to live her own life. As for Trunks; I just wish he would call me once every few months to say 'hi'. I knew he was busy, but a simple 'hi' from my son wasn't too much to ask.

Suddenly I grunted aggressively, _'Damn the weakness the woman forced upon me. When I travelled with Nappa, I never had to deal with emotions. Now here I was sad and miserable because my children didn't have time to see me.'_ "You're a pitiful excuse for a Saiyan Vegeta." I spoke to myself with as much disgust as I could. "Even Raditz was able to control his emotions. Weak." My eyes were looking at the woman's grave, but they weren't actually seeing it.

As my anger rose, I saw a quick flash of something before my eyes. I recognized the image even though it was only there for a split second. It was Bulma. Every time I would call myself weak she would appear somehow. When she was alive, she would actually be in the room with me. Now she just appeared as a memory. "Forgive me woman. I forget that you are my greatest strength. Even though I may be weak, I have you." With a slight chuckle I envisioned my woman's reaction to that statement. She would put one hand on my chest and another on my chin. It was her way of calming me down. Her touch made me know that even if I was alone in hell, that she would love me no matter what. It was a piece of knowledge I always held dear to me.

Tears forced themselves out of my eyes as a hated memory fell down my cheeks. The memory was almost always brought up by the mention of the word 'love'. Saiyans never used that word. It was hard for me to even fathom what it truly meant when directed at another being. Saiyans didn't have boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands, or wives; we had mates. No love, just convenience. A mate was used for child baring and training. 'Love' had nothing to do with it.

Even though the concept of love between two being didn't exist in the Saiyan world, here on Earth love meant everything. It took nearly a decade for me to start to think of the woman and my children with the word. Never did I allow myself to develop the ability to verbally use the word. The woman used it all the time. I never used that word more than once. The one time had been to Trunks in front of Buu. Never before had I seen him so confused. I guess he didn't know I knew the word.

The tears ran extremely freely down my twitching face. It hurt for me to think of the memory. Since it came every time I thought of that word, I never thought about the word much. The though would bring about possibly the saddest memory in my mind.

*flashback*

I sat in the master bedroom of the Capsule Corp. next to the giant bed. This was the room my woman wanted to be put in. There were many beeping and complicated machines. These pieces of scrap were what allowed Bulma to awaken long enough for a short conversation.

I sat at the head of the bed. Bulma lay only a foot away from where I sat looking at her. My gaze never left her. I was going to make sure that I never left her alone. One of the last complaints she had made before the damn virus infected her was about how I never spent time with her. I was determined to stay next to her at anytime I could.

Now my gaze was filled with hope. The doctors had told me that she would only awaken one more time. That was all her heart could support. Every single friend she had was out in the hallway waiting for the machines to alert everyone that she was gone. They had allowed me to spend my last few minutes with her. Both Bulla and Trunks were across town in meetings. They were not told that these were her last minutes. I didn't want them to see their mother die. It was something I would not allow.

Suddenly Bulma's eyes opened slightly. This was it. All of her friends had said their goodbyes the last time she was awake. Now it was my turn. She looked at me with her loving blue eyes. I had learned to find comfort in them. "V-Vegeta…" Her voice was a whisper. She was in no condition to talk.

"Be quiet woman. You are too weak to talk. It might make you weaker if you try and I want to spend every moment I can with you right now." She smiled faintly. Her beauty shined through the pale tissue that had become her skin.

We sat there in silence for a minute just looking at each other. I gently gripped her hand in mind. I wore no gloves so that I could feel her. Even though this sickness was about to take her life, it could not take away her warmth. We smiled as our hands clasped each other. I never smiled, but this was a special moment and she deserved it.

Suddenly her ki started to falter. She was about to die. Quickly I noticed that there one thing she wanted to hear more than anything else in the world. "Bulma, I love you. I always have." I spoke so that she could hear me well. Sobs could be heard from outside the door. All of the woman's friends had heard me tell her my feelings.

Bulma lit up and for a second I thought that I had just cured her. A tear fell from her eyes as she mustered the breath to speak, "I love you too Vegeta….I always knew I could get you to admit it…I love you…" Her words faded away. It wasn't because of her being weak that made them fade; it was because my lips pressed softly against hers.

That kiss had to be the sweetest thing that I had ever had the pleasure of partaking in. Her ki vanished during it. I held the kiss as the machines started to alert everyone to her death.

Kakarot's harpy led the group into the room quickly. They all stopped in their tracks at the sight of me kissing my lifeless wife. Finally I pulled away and let them take care of the body. This was something I didn't want to be apart of. To touch her body right now would be a mistake. I was on the verge of cracking from the grief that racked my heart and that would deal the final blow.

Trunks and Bulla arrived shortly after to find me in the lobby. I wanted to train so hard, but I knew that it was my duty to inform them. "Daddy, is mom okay?"

Bulla seemed so full of hope. She seemed to already know the answer and this was obviously her attempt to try to fool herself. "No, your mother is dead now. She went…peacefully." I allowed myself to think back to my last kiss with my woman. My thoughts were shattered by Trunks crying and Bulla attempting to calm him a bit.

On the stairs was Trunks' wife. Marron did not want to interrupt this. I could tell she was afraid of how I might react to a sudden intrusion on a family moment. Watching my children cry had been one thing I didn't want to view. I turned and went straight to the gravity room. On the way there I nodded at Marron to let her know it was safe to try and console her husband.

The rest of that day had been spent training fiercely against the air. Anyone that could sense energy told the rest of the group that right now I was venting. To anyone that would just mean that I'm upset, to us; it meant that if I was disturbed then I was likely to kill whoever dared bother me. Kakarot had to go back already and that left me with no one to beat up on. I could tell it would take weeks to vent myself into exhaustion.

*end flashback*

That was the last time I saw either Bulla or Trunks. I know that Bulla has tried hard to meet with me, but her job didn't allow for that to happen. It could considered harassment how much she asked Trunks to meet with me. The boy would have nothing of it though. I knew today that Bulla had some spare time and she was meeting Trunks for lunch. The crafty girl had tried to get me to go without him noticing so that we may be together again as a family for once. This time it was I who rejected her offer. I knew Trunks would be enraged if I were to show up. He would never trust Bulla again and Trunks was her beloved brother.

I wondered how Trunks had gone from worshipping me to disliking me in one lifetime. The last time I actually spoke to Trunks emotionally was right before I killed myself to stop Buu. The memory pained me. I wanted to call him.

It must have been my woman's headstone that forced me to pull my phone out and dial Bulla's number. I knew that she always would put it on speaker when with family. Right now I knew that she was with Trunks at some restaurant. Suddenly laughing and distant talking was heard on my phone. I had been right. Bulla must not have noticed it was me who called because she didn't respond to me calling the way she normally did, "Hello?"

Silently I took a deep breath and prepared myself. I could hear Trunks chuckling near Bulla. This was my opportunity to tell my son what I felt needed to be said. "I see you went on with you lunch plans without me." My voice was rough and annoyed. I couldn't believe I was about to try and practically bed Trunks to talk to me.

The giggling stopped immediately as my voice boomed from the small phone. "Daddy! I thought you said you were too busy to have any time to do anything today."

This left an opening for me to take a quick jab at Trunks for not making time for me. "Name for me what would be so important as to keep me from at least calling my princess." The term was used for both Bulla and Trunks. Bulla was my little princess and Trunks was a weakling when he trained.

Trunks could be heard coughing nervously as if he was trying to let it be known he was there too. "Why don't you come spend the day with us daddy?" She pleaded over the phone. I felt sorry because I could tell Bulla really would have liked having me there with her and Trunks.

"No. I take it that Trunks is there." My voice sounded like I had ignored the boy's cough.

A heard a sad sigh come from Bulla as she replied, "Yes daddy. That is why I wanted you to join us today." Anyone else would have thought she was on the verge of tears.

"Good. Trunks, listen carefully. I have something I want to tell you." Slowly I was getting nervous. This was something I hadn't done since Trunks was a child. I wasn't used the way saying this was making me feel, nor was I used to how I was feeling about telling him this. "I just wanted to say that…I love you son and that I am and have always been proud of you." That was by far one of the hardest things I ever had to do.

Bulla could be heard holding back tears at the unexpected show of sentiment from me. "Father…" Quickly I hung the phone up. I had told the boy that was all I had to say to him and I meant it.

"How do you do it Kakarot?" My voice echoed throughout the empty cemetery. For once I was hoping Kakarot could hear me. Normally that bumbling fool would just anger me beyond belief, but now I wanted to know how he could deal with emotions so damn easy. I was clearly the better father and husband, yet he managed to express his feelings to that annoying family of his.

Tears began to sting my eyes as I thought of me being a father. It had only taken a human lifetime for me to be able to actually get in touch with my softer emotions. I didn't like it one bit. What I hadn't expected from becoming soft was that old memories would bother me. Above all past memories, there was one group of memories that stood far above others that I thought I would never think about; they were memories about my father.

Never did I dare to even think bad things about my father. In my eyes, he had been a great king. He did what was best for the Saiyan race. We prospered under his rule. To me; he was perfect.

It took my woman awhile to do it, but she eventually got me to tell her about my father. She told me that he was a horrid father for handing me over to that son of bitch. Frieza was the one that made me the way I am. I became the cold son of bitch that had wiped several races from existence. Bulma rightfully blamed that on my father. I have actually had to sit and console that woman due to her crying over my past.

"You caused so much grief. You ruined my life for the sake of our people…I can't believe I held so much respect for you and had pride about being your son. I'm sure that if it wasn't for the woman then I would still feel that way." A single tear fell down my cheek as I grunted my aggravated words to the empty patch of ground next to Bulma's grave. _'Damn it Vegeta! Stop being weak and get a hold of yourself! Only low-class trash like Kakarot cries like this…'_

My thoughts stopped there as I mentioned the old Saiyan insult the elite-class Saiyans used for the low-class Saiyans. I hadn't even thought of that old saying since long ago when I had allowed for Babidi to take control of me. The woman had eliminated a lot of my old Saiyan prides about elites being better than other Saiyans. I could feel my blood run faster as I thought of how all of my father's teachings had been forgotten thanks to the woman. I honestly couldn't care whether or not I remembered them, but my pride wanted me to kill myself.

I fell to my knees and I punch the ground next to Bulma's headstone, "Damn you! First you give me away to that bastard Frieza, and then you go on a suicide mission against Frieza, and now your old lessons of Saiyan pride torment me!!!" The ground shook violently as I punched the ground with a great amount of force. My aura flared around me as I began to go Super Saiyan.

My coat was about to be ripped to shreds by the volatile energy whipping around me. Suddenly my phone began to ring. Slowly I allowed myself to calm down and I changed back to my normal state. I was in no mood to really talk, but I figured it would be for the best to say what in the hell this person wanted.

When I looked at my phone, I realized that it was Bulla who was calling me. Many thoughts went through my head. She may just want to continue begging me to come have lunch with her and Trunks. It could be a number of things, "What is it?"

I could hear breathing on the other end of the line, nervous breathing. That meant that Bulla had taken her phone off speaker. "Are you alright dad? I felt your energy rise quickly and I felt the Earth shake a bit." It was Trunks. He sounded almost like he thought he would regret asking me that question.

"I'm fine boy. Now is that all you wanted from me or can I hang up and go back to my peaceful silence?" There were many reasons why I didn't feel like talking about what had just happened. One was that it was my business and my business alone.

In the background Bulla could be heard yapping something in her worried voice. I recognized immediately as the one her mother used to use when she thought something was wrong.

Suddenly everything stood still for a moment. The wind stopped blowing, all sounds stopped being made, and the clouds stopped moving. Then I saw a vision of beauty standing before me; it was Bulma. "I wish you showed this kind of emotion when I was alive." The woman stood before me with her arms crossed and her classic smirk on her face.

"B-Bulma…" I cursed myself silently at my show of surprise and sadness and seeing my woman in front of me.

"You know Vegeta; you don't have to come here every single day. I wish you would just continue living your life instead of staying here and thinking about the past."

"I come here to be with you woman. You were my life. I don't have friends like you had. Now that you are buried here I shall come here everyday until I am buried right here beside you." A flush of pleasure flew through my body as I argued with my deaf wife.

"Stubborn as always, have you even thought that a part of me is alive in you? I doubt that you have thought the same about Trunks and Bulla. If you were to go spend time with them, then in a way, I would be there too. A part of me exists in Trunks, in Bulla, and most of all in you. All three of you together would bring those parts together. That is as close as it will ever get for you guys to have me back."

Angrily I grunted knowing she was right. "If I do that, then will you still appear to me like this every now and then?"

Bulma's eyes softened up and she placed a hand on my cheek, "No, but I will always be with you. I just told you that. Now please, for me; go have lunch with our kids." She let loose a demanding tone in her voice as she looked into my eyes.

"Fine, but I'm not paying for the food", Bulma laughed as I spoke with annoyance as I submitted.

"I'd expect nothing more from my prince." She disappeared as she said that. As soon as she was gone, all of the noises started again. Time continued moving along. I knew that she had just been a figment of my imagination, but I was going to listen to what it said anyway.

"Give my phone Trunks! I want to talk to him!!!" I heard fumbling as the phone was ripped from my son's hands and into Bulla's. "Daddy? Is everything alright? Trunks said that he felt your energy grow and we felt the ground shake a little bit. Do you need me there or something?" She inherited her penchant for worrying from her mother.

"I'm fine. Tell the cooks at that restaurant to get ready to feed a Saiyan because I'm going to join you two there."

"Really?!" I winced as her voice hurt my sensitive ears.

"Yes, it is what your mother would want." With that I hung up and looked down at the woman's grave. "I'll be back every other day and I don't care what you say about it." I flew off immediately after my promise.


End file.
